About FOOTPRINTS IN THE BAJRA (Cedar Books, New Delhi); By Nabina Das

"Fittingly for a poet, Nabina’s novel also has a strong lyrical core. 'Footprints in the Bajra' takes the homely image of the millet field as its central metaphor. ... But the novel is less a thriller about guerrilla action than a subtly colored character study of a fascinating group of individuals who intersect at various points in their lives ..." -- DEBRA CASTILLO, author, editor and distinguished professor (Cornell University, April 17, 2010).

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Footprints in the Bajra is a serious book that moves at a smart uncontrived pace. It voices deep concerns about how and why the deprived and the marginalized in certain parts of our country join the Maoist ranks; how they adopt desperate and often terrible measures to wrench justice and to make their voices heard... a confident debut novel, a good read, which will leave you with plenty to mull over. -- PRITI AISOLA, author (See Paris for Me, Penguin-India, 2009) in DANSE MACABRE XXXIV.

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In her debut novel, Nabina Das writes about an India where social divides stand taller than multistoried shopping malls. Footprints in the Bajra, inspired by what she saw while touring the interiors of Bihar as part of a travelling theatre group, inquires into why the Maoists have an influence over a large section of Indian society. Das talked to Uttara Choudhury in New York about her book, and its protagonist Muskaan -- DAILY NEWS AND ANALYSIS, Mumbai, March 28, 2010.

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"The interspersion of references from both the West and India do not clash. Shakespeare and Lazarus as reference points are brought in with ease, as also Valmiki and Goddess Chhinnamasta, and nothing jars ... The language is poetic and creates visual images of beauty and ugliness side by side." -- ABHA IYENGAR, poet (Yearnings: Serene Woods, 2010) and fiction writer in MUSE INDIA, May-Jun 2010

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Shwetank Dubey says Nabina Das ably recreates the milieu of Maoist-infested regions of India -- Nabina Das has chosen the first person account of narrating a story from the main characters of the novel, Nora the sheherwali (urban dweller), Muskaan the rebel, Suryakant Sahay the crafty clandestine planner and Avadhut the frontrunner of all the operations... the book deals with something that no urban resident is bound to know on his own — the life and times of people living in Maoist infested areas and why do they give in to the temptation provided by the Red Brigade. -- PIONEER newspaper, April 25, 2010.

"This is bitter-sweet, if a rather longish tale of a modern-day Maoist revolution and the seeds of destruction and betrayal that lie embedded in it." --Business World, May 17, 2010

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Director Onir on "Footprints..."!!

It makes me immensely happy to receive this comment below on my novel "Footprints in the Bajra" from one of the best known young directors of Indian Cinema. Onir Anirban is definitely the most pertinent new face of film making in the Subcontinent today. The I AM series directed by Onir promises to break new grounds in cinematic approaches.

I met Onir first at Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, in 2009, where he showed us the work-in-progress version of his first I AM series -- "Omar". Soft-spoken and passionate about the topics at hand that he is, the film came across as a new take on LGBT issues, at once sympathetic and questioning.

I thought it would be rather unfortunate if I did not send my book to Onir. He's a busy director, and this is the only way I could send him a gift! So, this is what he said, after reading "Footprints...":

"Finally managed to read Footprints in the Bajra. Compelling reading, lovely drama and great texture. Enjoyed reading very much. Thank you for giving me your book to read."

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LITTLE BOXES ...A SONG!

Words and music by Malvina Reynolds; copyright 1962 Schroder Music Company, renewed 1990. Pete Seeger made it famous (There's a Spanish version "Las Casitas del Barrio Alto" - 1971, by the chilean songwriter Victor Jara, depicting in a mocking way the over-Europeanized and bourgeois lifestyle of the residents of the "Barrio Alto" in Santiago de Chile.)

Little boxes on the hillside,Little boxes made of ticky tacky,Little boxes on the hillside,Little boxes all the same.There's a green one and a pink oneAnd a blue one and a yellow one,And they're all made out of ticky tackyAnd they all look just the same.And the people in the housesAll went to the university,Where they were put in boxesAnd they came out all the same,And there's doctors and lawyers,And business executives,And they're all made out of ticky tackyAnd they all look just the same.

Timeless

Venus di Milo @ Louvre

Cascadilla Creek

emerald bright

Seneca Falls National Women's History Museum

Women's suffrage

Graffiti à Nanterre, mai '68

Ne me libère pas, je m'en charge.

Cornell clock tower

Ursula K. Le Guin

The creative adult is the child who has survived.

Japanese message crows

Corning Museum of glass

BERTOLT BRECHT

"Kya Zulmaton ke Daur Main Bhi Geet Gaye Jayenge?Haan, Zulmaton ke Daur ke hi Geet Gaye Jayenge."**WILL THERE BE SINGING IN THE DARK TIMES? YES, THERE WILL BE SINGING ABOUT THE DARK TIMES.

Pier

On Lake Ontario, Rochester

Hannah Arendt

The practice of violence, like all action, changes the world, but the most probable change is a more violent world.

Deer on the lawn

at the end of spring, Ithaca

Pastor Neimoeller

First they came for the Jewsand I did not speak out - because I was not a Jew.Then they came for the communistsand I did not speak out - because I was not a communist.Next they came for the trade unionistsand I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist.Then they came for meand there was no one left to speak out for me.

Karl Marx

The development of Modern Industry, ... , cuts from under its feet the very foundation on which the bourgeoisie produces and appropriates products. What the bourgeoisie therefore produces, above all, are its own grave-diggers. Its fall and the victory of the proletariat are equally inevitable.